Thought I'd create this as a place for general discussion of all the FF games that have been and will be.

So to kick things off, I've just completed FFXIII-2. Have to say I enjoyed it in the end, but I was very unsure at the start! I loved FFXIII and the way it handled things; no towns, no world map etc, so this actually seemed a jump back for me at first. I don't really want to have 50 people wondering around I can talk to for no reason other than to hear them spout nonsense that doesn't matter, and only being able to max out one part of the Crystarium at a time was nice, as it meant there was no point hanging around. Still, thought I'd give XIII-2 a shot (the price dropping below Â£20 was a big factor there) and it was great. Worth picking up and persevering with if you liked XIII I reckon. Judging from the end though

Took me about two years or something to motivate myself to finish FFXII. It really is excellent in a lot of respects but it lacked a certain something for me, more so than any other game in the series.

I can't put my finger on why I loved it so much. I even got lost in the jungle area and didn't care. Clocked over a hundred hours in the end. Only other JRPG that I've loved that much was/is Xenoblade, which I'm still working through.

Make game, make sure game works, print game on disc. It's the future. - SpaceGazelle

I need to replay XII. I stopped playing it for some reason (probably because it came out after the 360 did and I was already well into that) but now I can't remember what I'm doing or what the fuck is going on. So may start again.

I actually like both XII's and XIII's combat systems a lot. I guess you could take the piss out of XII for almost playing itself, but it made the game kinda chillaxing in some respects, and obviously you always had the full range of options available in the menu. It's a shame they had production issues (which even ended up affecting the soundtrack, as the guy had to write music without knowing what it was going to end up attached to) and fannied about with the characters for the sake of demographics.

Remember the mental breakdown I had while waiting for the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Crystal Edition to arrive?

I wouldnâ€™t claim to be the number-one fan of any game series, and I tend not to get excited about game releases any more. That said, a couple of days before the release of a major Final Fantasy game, my sanity starts to erode as I get worked up into a frenzy of excitement. The wait for Final Fantasy XIII-2 was particularly unbearable. Not only had I ordered the most expensive version of the game (the Â£80 Crystal Edition), the dispatch of my copy ended up being affected by retailer GAMEâ€™s financial woes. GAME received their stock late and then decided to dispatch their Soulcalibur V pre-orders before starting to send out Final Fantasy XIII-2. By the time I received the dispatch email, I was panicking. Iâ€™d read a few anecdotal accounts from people on Twitter and web forums who had had their Crystal Edition orders cancelled with no explanation â€“ would my precious copy, pre-ordered months, months, in advance, be OK?

The dispatch of my copy was not the end of my ordeal. GAMEâ€™s Twitter account was uncertain whether pre-orders would arrive in time for release day. An unimaginable horrorÂ â€“ having to wait until the day after release to play the latest Final Fantasy title â€“ loomed. The fateful Friday of release arrived. I waited for the delivery van in my living room, on tenterhooks. Would my copy arrive? Or â€“ gulp! â€“ would I have to wait until tomorrow? The minutes and hours became more and more prolonged as my sanity ebbed. Was thatâ€¦ was that my reflection in the mirror, or the delivery man? People passed by the front window, wondering why I was staring out at them. They would never know the true reason â€“ that I was staring at them because I wished they were Parcel Force vans. The morning was passing, lunch approached. Was that sound my rumbling stomachâ€¦ or the doorbell?

Finally, finally, there was a knock at the door. The delivery man! I struggled to suppress a wild grin â€“ I wouldnâ€™t want the him to think I was mad, would I? I unleashed my Crystal Edition from its cardboard tomb. I gazed upon its contents, its artbook, its lenticular artwork, its soundtrack, its artcards. And then, at last, I reached out the game box. Now, after this long wait, I could begin the experience I had waited all this time to undergo. I read the manual.

Might as well be - is that any good? I was going to finish FXIII at my Dad's but he'd deleted the wrong save. I was in The Ark for the first time. Should I grab it cheap and try again?

Replaying FFXIII is a chore because it dishes things out so slowly. When you get into the game proper, after like 20 hours, you forget how little you could do at the start, and so replaying it is sloooow. EDIT: ffs, Matty.

I still think it's worth playing through, I really enjoyed it. Yeah it's a bit annoying at the start but it isn't that long till you're levelling up and using different paradigms.

One day i'll 100% a FF other than IX. I never have the patience for the optional stuff.

Got to Ulitmate Weapon on VIII but he was obscene, battled my way up to Dark Bahamut on X before giving up on that quest (fuck you Dark Sisters), did all the marks up to Hell Wyrm on FFXII and then stopped for Okami and never came back. I never beat Ruby or Emerald on VII, and I remember X-2 having a particularly odious set of ultra bad dudes too.

Has anyone ever managed to obtain a legendary weapon or summon without a guide before?

Edge did an article on it after the Zodiac Spear issue. It is possible that they do sometimes develop a game with guides in mind.

Only FF I fully completed was VII. Only had Ozma or whatever to beat on IX but couldn't be bothered. Got obliterated by Dark Magus Sisters on X and gave up. Waaaaaay off fully completing VIII and I actually restarted it a few years ago with the intention of doing so. Left XII at Pylraster with intention of going back. Need to go back to XIII as well.Â

FFVI had some blatant strategy guide bait - some of the chests in the early game are replaced with superior treasures if you leave them until later in the game, but there's no way of telling this within the game itself.

Nope, I ought to. I couldn't be bothered with the level of grinding needed to get strong enough to even get to him/it. In fact, although I said I'd go back to the ones I hadn't fully completed, I doubt I really do actually want to grind so much. Maybe on XII because I actually enjoyed the combat a lot.

Some of the ultimate badass bosses are ridiculous. But I imagine they wouldn't be that bad if you put the time into it. I spent hours and hours levelling up on VII just to be able to face and beat Emerald Weapon. Ruby Weapon was easier (for me). Even then, the battle was a big grind.

I guess it's nice being able to fight and beat them. I imagine you wouldn't really get anything useful out of it seeing as you need to be almighty powerful to beat them and nothing else to beat afterwards.

Some of the ultimate badass bosses are ridiculous. But I imagine they wouldn't be that bad if you put the time into it. I spent hours and hours levelling up on VII just to be able to face and beat Emerald Weapon. Ruby Weapon was easier (for me). Even then, the battle was a big grind.

I guess it's nice being able to fight and beat them. I imagine you wouldn't really get anything useful out of it seeing as you need to be almighty powerful to beat them and nothing else to beat afterwards.

The game doesn't even mention Penance other than fighting him and you get stuff from him which is useless because you've beating fucking Penance.

The best optional boss i've ever fought was in Tales of Symphonia, because the combat system required skill rather than just attrition of levels etc

Does XIII-2 have the paradigm system? I thought that was a rather smart move in FXIII although it was explained over such a long period of time. My first real Paradigm battle was against that guy you fight in The Ark, really required you to be on the ball and shift to the right strategies to counter him.